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An Interview With Patrick Kitzel

September 2, 2009

Reaper is hands down the best label in hardcore right now. This interview touches on many subjects about reaper and a lot of other things Patrick has done (True Blue, Spawn, Repel Fanzine, Halo Tattoos, etc…) This is just a few random questions from the interview, the rest will be printed in the first issue of New Noise.

NS: Everyone has that one band that pulls them in, either with the lyrics or the music. What band(s) really stuck out to you and made you want to become apart of the hardcore scene?

PK: Well there were a few bands like that. Bad Brains and Minor Threat definitely were my favorites back then along with Youth Of Today and Judge Bad Brains really were a band you listened to and were like what the fuck is going on. They would be lightening fast one sec and then jamming these Rasta tunes the next minute. It blew my mind the first time I heard them and still blows my mind to this day. It’s in my book the all time best band and everyone who disagrees sucks. Minor threat and YOT definitely got the straight edge thing going with me. Their lyrics made me rethink all the peer pressure growing up and straighten myself out. My parents are alcoholics and I would have become one too if it wouldn’t have been for hardcore and Straight Edge I am sure. YOT made me go vegetarian after hearing the song “NO MORE” and after picking up Animal Liberation by Singer, which was suggested in the layout of the We are not In this Alone LP. Cro Mags and AF and all the NY stuff obviously were always at the forefront to.

Alright so as most people know you did True Blue, and you mentioned that you put out the True Blue demo, when and how did true blue start?

True blue started out as an idea that Spawns and True Blue / World Collapse drummer Rene and I had back in 1997. Originally we called the band Harsh Truth but changed the name after jamming some Madonna one day to True Blue. We started practicing with the original line up soon after and recorded the demo in 98 early 1998 I think it was then a year after the record came out.

You did demos for Buried Alive, Born From Pain, True Blue, what other bands did you put out tapes for and what was the response like over in Germany for Repel and the bands that you put out?

I did a despair live tape, the damage id demo, the discord demo, iron skull demo and 2 tape comps, maybe some others too that I forgot haha. Anyways the response was always awesome, true blue sold over 1000 demos, it was nuts, all hand copied tapes haha I couldn’t imagine now 12 years later doing that

After the Awol 7” you put out the Terror demo 7” that really put your label to another level. How did that come together?

I’ve been friends with Scott since the early 90’s and basically knew him trough most of his bands. I did the despair live tape, I did a split with spawn and despair with him, I did the buried alive demo, toured with all of his bands and whatnot so doing something with terror was only natural.

Lets dig into the future a little bit more, what would you want reaper to be remembered for say 20 years from now?

That we were a hardcore label. Not a record label perse but a hardcore label that put out hardcore records. Reaper is not interested in the record industry and all its BS, we are a grass roots hardcore label that’s all…